Social conservatives aren’t.

The people who claim the mantle of leadership in the so-called social conservative movement are going to war against conservatives, those who actually believe in small government, freedom, individual responsibility and individual accountability, again. Erick hit the nail on the head early this year when he noted Rick Santorum is a big-government pro-lifer. So are the Catholic Bishops and so, according to the account in the New York Times today, are the “Evangelical Leaders”.

It’s interesting that Erick has an article up on immigration reform and the Stupid Party today because this article in the Times lays out just who is on the Stupid side of the table.

Some of the nation’s most influential evangelical groups urged a solution to illegal immigration on Tuesday that defies the harsh rhetoric of the Republican primary race, which continues to undermine Mitt Romney’s appeal to Hispanic voters.

The call by the groups represents a recognition that in one bedrock element of the conservative movement — evangelical Christians — the demography of their followers is changing, becoming more Hispanic, and that Republican leaders risk being out of step with their hawkish talk of border fences and immigration crackdowns like those in Arizona.

Let’s be clear, illegal immigration costs at the state level are roughly equal to the deficits that the states are incurring and are either raising taxes on legal Americans or cutting services. Illegal immigration is destroying K-12 schools because the children – even those who are “anchor baby citizens” – don’t have a working command of the English language. I could go on, but unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the issues.

There is one subject that I do want to touch on, and that’s illegals who “pay taxes” to offset the cost of their being here. That is a false argument. Yes, some do pay income tax, but in order to believe that tax revenue would completely go away, you have to believe those jobs would never be filled by someone with a legal right to be here. Even if the job isn’t filled, that money will be in circulation, perhaps as taxable income to the business owner or generating revenue as sales tax through goods purchased by the business. Taxation is not a zero sum game where taking one worker out of the mix reduces tax revenue. There’s also the consideration that we’ve got something on the order of 12 to 20 million illegals in the US and right now we’ve got about 12 million long term unemployed US citizens. Not to mention youth unemployment that is running as high as 70% in some areas.

Frankly the only “moral” case Evangelicals have for their push for amnesty is that Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of their congregations. Given that logic, it’s a good thing they haven’t expanded their prison ministries, they’d be pleading for pardons for violent felons.

Tom Minnery, the senior vice president of policy for one evangelical group, Focus on the Family, said many of the 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants should be free to “come out of the shadows” and “begin the process of restitution” leading to attaining legal residency.

Mr. Minnery spoke at a Capitol Hill news conference called to announce that more than 150 Christian evangelical leaders, including from the Southern Baptist Convention and the National Association of Evangelicals, were endorsing an overhaul of immigration policy.

The evangelical leaders expressed opposition to such notions as “self-deportation,” which Mr. Romney favored in a Republican debate and which urges strict enforcement of laws to encourage illegal immigrant workers to leave the country.

I am heartened somewhat by Mitt Romney’s campaign’s response:

“Governor Romney believes that legal immigration is a source of strength for America and that to protect legal immigration we must address illegal immigration in a civil but resolute manner,” said Alberto Martinez, an adviser to Mr. Romney in Florida.

“As president, Governor Romney would work with any groups on a reform that strengthens legal immigration, secures our borders, respects those who are waiting patiently to enter legally and ensures that we do not encourage further illegal immigration.”

Illegal aliens are here illegally. Despite the whining to the contrary they are a huge net drain on the U.S. The cost to educate them combined with the damage they do to our schools, the cost of social services to support families – primarily families of anchor babies – is bankrupting the states. Mitt Romney is right about self deportation.

In conclusion, please refrain from telling me how conservative social conservatives are. They’re not. You may be able to make the case that “you personally” are a “three legged conservative”, and if that’s the case I challenge you to take your case to your church leadership because they’re not. The groups leading in this immigration debacle include Focus on the Family, the Southern Baptist Convention and the National Association of Evangelicals. You can throw the U.S. Catholic Bishops on that pile as well.

Expect to be reminded of this the next time these pretenders and poseurs come looking for a seat at the table to discuss who should be the Republican nominee for anything and threatening to stay home if their “issues” aren’t addressed.